Engadget RSS Feedhttp://www.engadget.com/tag/heal/rss.xml
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en-usEngadget RSS FeedCopyright 2015 AOL Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/darpa-longs-for-magnetic-body-healers-crazy-respawn-camps/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/darpa-longs-for-magnetic-body-healers-crazy-respawn-camps/http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/24/darpa-longs-for-magnetic-body-healers-crazy-respawn-camps/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsEven DARPA understands that its futuristic bubble shield can be penetrated given the right circumstances, and when it does, the soldier behind it is going to need some serious healing. In a hurry. In the entity's newest budget, there's $6.5 million tucked away "for the creation of a scaffold-free tissue engineering platform, which would allow the construction of large, complex tissues in vitro and in vivo." As you well know, this type of mad science has been around for quite some time, and now it looks as if DARPA is ready for the next best thing: "non-contact forces." Put simply, this alludes to replacing scaffolds with magnetic fields or dielectrophoresis, which could purportedly "control cell placement in a desired pattern for a sufficient period of time to allow the cells to synthesize their own scaffold." It's still too early to say how close we are to being able to instantaneously heal soldiers on the battlefield, but frankly, the public is apt to never know for sure.

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Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:22:00 -050021|19369793http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/15/laser-bonded-healing-could-replace-needle-and-thread/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/15/laser-bonded-healing-could-replace-needle-and-thread/http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/15/laser-bonded-healing-could-replace-needle-and-thread/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23comments
It sounds more like something you'd see in X-Men than on an actual operating table in real life, but a team at Massachusetts General Hospital has developed a way to heal surgical incisions with laser light. Christened laser-bonded healing, the methodology has been studied for years, but up until now, scientists have found it impossible to find the perfect balance of heat required to coax tissue into healing itself back together. Irene Kochevar described the process as "nano suturing," as diminutive collagen fibers are woven together in a way that the old-fashioned needle-and-thread method simply can't match. The benefits, as you can likely imagine, are numerous: less scarring, faster recovery, the potential for fewer infections and bragging rights that you were struck with lasers and survived. Still, the procedure is far from becoming commonplace in ORs, given that the dermatological procedure hasn't even been submitted to the FDA yet. 'Til then, it's up to you and Wolverine to figure things out.

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Sun, 15 Feb 2009 01:01:00 -050021|1460402http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/25/oculus-uber-oxidised-water-hastens-healing/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/25/oculus-uber-oxidised-water-hastens-healing/http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/25/oculus-uber-oxidised-water-hastens-healing/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsWe've seen self-assembling chips, self-healing panels, and even regenerative houses hit the drawing board before, but California-based Oculus has created a liquid that can reportedly quicken the healing process when recovering from wounds. The firm's Dermacyn topical wound care is an "oxychlorine formulation" using the company's own Microcyn concoction, which is made by "taking purified water and passing it through a semi-permeable sodium chloride membrane to produce the oxychlorine ions," and essentially contains "electrically charged molecules which pierce the cell walls of free-living microbes." The formula is reportedly successful in killing off virii, bacteria, and fungi, and currently, the company is enrolling patients in a Phase II trial to evaluate its effectiveness in treating diabetic foot infections. The company is hoping to start said trial in Q3 of this year, and if all goes well, wants to execute a pair of larger Phase III trials shortly thereafter.

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Fri, 25 May 2007 10:32:00 -040021|903875http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/03/regenerative-house-to-grace-greece-mountainside/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/03/regenerative-house-to-grace-greece-mountainside/http://www.engadget.com/2007/04/03/regenerative-house-to-grace-greece-mountainside/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsYou've got plenty of options when it comes to healing your own body, but patching up your domicile usually requires days of back-breaking labor and gobs of cash to boot. Thankfully, that awful process could be nearing its end, as a £9.5 million ($18.64 million) European Union-funded project sets out to develop self-healing walls for your average home. The idea is to develop "special walls for the house that contain nano polymer particles, which will turn into a liquid when squeezed under pressure, flow into the cracks, and then harden to form a solid material." The technology would prove quite useful in areas where earthquakes are prominent, and in an effort to test things out before shoving it out to contractors everywhere, a swank villa is being erected on a Greece mountainside to collect information. The house's walls will be built from "novel load bearing steel frames and high-strength gypsum board," but more importantly, they will contain a smorgasbord of wireless sensors and RFID tags meant to collect, store, and disseminate critical data regarding "any stresses and vibrations, temperature, humidity, and gas levels." Now, who's the lucky lad(s) that get to call this their home research dwelling?

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Tue, 03 Apr 2007 03:57:00 -040021|865718http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/30/radiofrequency-treatment-curbs-asthma-attacks/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/30/radiofrequency-treatment-curbs-asthma-attacks/http://www.engadget.com/2007/03/30/radiofrequency-treatment-curbs-asthma-attacks/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsSure, there's quite a few way to circumvent the effects of asthma, but a new development coming out of McMaster University in Canada suggests that radiofrequency treatment can actually curb the amount of asthma attacks suffered by asthmatics. The device, which "uses radio waves to heat the muscle lining of patients' airways," is used to administer a trio of sessions, and while the actual root cause is still unknown, it seems to cause a reduction in the smooth muscle lining the airways, subsequently making breathing less of a chore. The probe isn't the most comfortable, however, as it must first make its way through your nose or mouth in order to reach the lung airways, after which the tip is "heated using radio waves." The procedure is known as bronchial thermoplasty, and while the funding company (Asthmatx) has yet to elicit a thumbs-up from the FDA, it could certainly become a viable alternative for asthma sufferers. It's about time these free-flying transmissions made up for the harm they've caused, eh?

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Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:02:00 -040021|863375http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/14/nanofiber-bandages-slated-to-heal-en-masse-next-year/%3Futm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%26ncid%3Drss_semi
http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/14/nanofiber-bandages-slated-to-heal-en-masse-next-year/http://www.engadget.com/2006/12/14/nanofiber-bandages-slated-to-heal-en-masse-next-year/%3Futm_source%3DFeed_Classic%26utm_medium%3Dfeed%26utm_campaign%3DEngadget%23commentsWhile we've seen a few snazzy band-aids in our day, not to mention talking first aid kits, a nanofiber bandage that can heal typical skin wounds faster is about to go mainstream. University of Akron professors Daniel Smith and Darrell Reneker are growing ever closer to bringing their invention to life, as a trial just wrapped up in Columbia that they hope will "win them FDA approval for clinical trials in the United States." The duo used electricity to spin ultrafine polymer fibers while infusing them with chemicals that open a wound to oxygen; then, the treated fibers "reduce inflammation, kill bacteria and repair slow-healing wounds faster than conventional methods," according to Smith. Moreover, the creators have already found a Minnesota-based firm willing to mass produce the nanobandages should they receive the green light, but the professors are hoping to build the new manufacturing plant in Ohio if at all possible, and have products on retail shelves "by 2008" at the latest. Given the presumed popularity of the quick-healing bandages, the team is continuing to work on other "nanofiber products" in their spare time, hoping that the mending aid is just the beginning of a long line of sweet nano-based products to come.